DJ Shai Guy: The Man Behind the Bollywood Beat Revolution

For over 15 years, DJ Shai Guy has been setting dancefloors alight with his unmistakable energy and genre-blending sound. A mainstay of London’s club scene and the resident DJ for the legendary Bombay Funkadelic nights, he’s built a loyal following for seamlessly mixing Bollywood beats with global grooves. From BBC residencies and over 40 official mixtapes to high-profile gigs for the Hinduja Brothers and Vodafone — and opening for Farhan Akhtar at Joon Festival — Shai has proven there’s no dancefloor he can’t command.

Now, with his latest venture BollyDay, a daytime Bollywood party designed for a new generation of clubbers who value fun, inclusivity, and balance, the London-based DJ continues to redefine what Desi nightlife can be. In this candid chat with Eastern Eye, Shai Hussain opens up about his journey from Manchester student nights to global stages, the art of keeping a crowd hyped, and why Ramta Jogi will never fail to bring the house down.

DJ Shai Guy www.easterneye.biz

When did you first realise you wanted to make people dance for a living?

Second year of university, going to Manchester student nights like Desire and Double Vision. I loved how good music made me feel, and wanted to have the power to be able to make people feel good too. I used to make mixtapes through my teens, and always loved pleasing people with good music. DJing was never an ambition, but looking back I guess it was a predictable transition.

What’s the moment that made you go, “I’m actually a DJ now”?

Even though I've been DJing since 2003 (professionally since 2010), I still suffered serious imposter syndrome until maybe late 2021. I was on a run of one amazing event after another, with people chanting ‘DJ Shai Guy’ at the end of the night, and I realised I might actually be good at this.

Who or what inspired you to start mixing Bollywood with global sounds?

The mixtapes I created through my teens were always a mix of songs, flipping from AR Rahman to Nirvana to Jatin Lalit to Prodigy. In terms of creating Bollywood mashups, I pride myself on being one of the pioneers alongside Master Kunal (Kunal Raval) and DJ Xtreme (Nikesh Parmar) during the late 2000s.

Did your family understand what you were doing in the early days, and how do they feel now that you are one of the top DJs?

Ha, no! Clubbing was something my parents always frowned upon - thanks to the way clubbing was depicted in the media, it was all about getting drunk and getting laid, neither of which they are okay with! It took time to show them the value of simply making people happy, which they got to see at friend's children's weddings I performed at. My dad has always pushed me to do whatever keeps me happy.

DJ Shai Guy

What about your mother?

My mum obviously always wanted me to be a doctor (like my dad), but she's always been supportive of my creative ambitions - she's just been afraid of its instability. But she understands now that creating, entertaining, educating - these are the things that give me the will to live. And the stability of steady contracts coming in these days also puts her mind at ease!

How would you describe your signature sound — in three words?

Mashed up bangers!

What’s the secret to keeping a crowd hyped from start to finish?

Not keeping things safe. Explore different genres, different eras, different languages. Alternate between originals, mashups and remixes. Build things up, cool them down. Speak to the audience, hype the drops, make them laugh. But most importantly, know your audience on the day, and make sure you're speaking the musical language that speaks most to them.

How do you blend old-school Bollywood with new-age beats without losing either vibe?

There are so many remixes I've brought myself to delete, because they carry the same over-produced synthetic vibe, and often the remixes don't follow the same structure as the original, so the crowd can't sing along with every word or time the hook step. This can be very frustrating for them. But at the same time, playing originals from the 70s to 90s can have a very weak bassline and drum kit. To be honest, I've started creating a lot more of my own remixes and mashups these days!

Do you plan your sets in detail or just feel the crowd and go with the flow?

I always go with the flow, as every crowd will be different to the last. However, I do have a system of categorising my music by era, genre, and how likely it is to land with the crowd.

DJ Shai Guy

What’s one unexpected song that always gets the crowd screaming?

Ramta Jogi. It's like Bollywood's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Is there a particular track that’s your instant party starter?

Kala Chashma lands every single time.

What’s your pre-set ritual — meditation, Red Bull, or madness?

Always some last-minute organising, tagging new songs I've downloaded and putting them into different playlists!

What’s the most chaotic or hilarious thing that’s ever happened mid-set?

Halloween 2018, deciding to DJ in a tight Deadpool onesie. Had to cut the fingers from the gloves as I couldn't use the laptop touchpad. Had to take the mask off eventually as I couldn't see. But the worst part was not realising how difficult it would be going to pee. The toilet was far, the song I left on set was short, the desperation was agonising. I'll say no more.

Tell us about your BollyDay creation?

Bollyday is my new project that I launched in June with a bid to redefine Bollywood clubbing. My fans have grown up and have kids and want earlier sleeping times. But also, young people today want to live healthier lives. So, we've created a Bollywood daytimer, which we hope will be a safe space for old and young, LGBTQ, and for men and women who just want to have a good time dancing to their favourite songs.

Do you ever want to produce your own original tracks?

I've actually written maybe 150 songs since the mid-90s. Love ballads and indie rock on guitar with my Tascam 4-track, EDM on my trusty Roland MC-909, and most recently wrote some angry political hip-hop during the pandemic. I've just never got round to professionally producing any of it.

DJ Shai Guy

Your favourite Bollywood film purely for its music?

Dil Se.

Finally — describe the perfect night out in one sentence.

Pre-party drinks and games catching up with fun-loving friends, moving onto a club with an awesome DJ, jumping, screaming, losing it to the music but with breaks that afford moments of deep connection with besties and Sangita, then moving onto a pizza joint with hilarious random conversations, then making new friends on the tube/bus home, and falling asleep with the final thought of ‘I am awesome. Really must do this more’.

www.djshaiguy.co.uk & Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and TikTok: @DJShaiGuy